<p>he’s not 14/15. he’s graduating from his undergrad in 2010, which means he’d be 18 or 19. putting him at 17/18 now. still quite young for a masters program. and UBC does not have a GPA system (to the poster that went to U of T). they do percentages and letter grades, and the letter grades don’t convert directly to the US GPA scale. for example, a professor teaching in the states will give a certain paper of average quality an A or A- (which is either in the 80% range or the 90% range, depending on the school’s scale). that same paper given to the same professor at a canadian school would get a B (around 75%). so yes. what would get a 90% or an 85% at some american schools will get you 75% at a canadian one. just a different grading system. this is coming from a number of professors who went to school in the states and have taught in the US and canada for a number of years. even taking the poster’s current average and converting it wouldn’t be a true reflection of his GPA in comparison to american counterparts. that’s why most universities worth their salt employ international grades specialists who convert other countries’ grades to GPAs.</p>
<p>anyway… if you’re looking for full funding for a masters for any of these programs, you’re not going to get it. no one gets it. even the boy geniuses. the money is not there at the MS level for these three schools. you have options. you can go for a PhD, where you will get funded. you can look at programs other than these three, where you might get funded. or you can look for external funding sources or loans. although it is extremely disingenuous and generally considered bad form, you could apply for a PhD, get your masters in the mail after two years in the program, and then drop out. you’ll still leave with the masters and it won’t have cost you a dime. you’ll have a hard time getting letters of recommendation from the profs in your PhD program, though.</p>
<p>and i’m going to stress something others have mentioned: don’t say you’re doing a masters “just for the challenge,” and don’t make your statement of purpose at all about your life story. that is irrelevant. you are competing for spots with people who have backgrounds just as impressive as yours, or more impressive than yours. sell your ideas and your dedication (even if you have to fake it), not your “i want to go to the toughest school possible because i’m up for the challenge!” that is very high school. at best, they won’t care, and at worst, they’ll hate you for it much in the way half the people in this thread do.</p>